Boat captain enters plea of not guilty

The captain of a Celebrity Cruises ship entered a not guilty plea in federal court Friday to charges that he operated a vessel while under the influence.

Periklis Petridis, 47, was arrested May 19 after a Coast Guard safety officer inspecting the ship before its departure from Pier 66 suspected that the captain was drunk. Breath-alcohol tests conducted by Seattle police found that Petridis had an alcohol level as high as 0.181. The federal limit for operating a ship in U.S. waters is 0.040.

Petridis was charged in U.S. District Court in Seattle. The charge is a misdemeanor and could get Petridis a year in jail and a $100,000 fine.

Petridis will be staying at a Seattle motel and will have to appear at the Pretrial Services offices of the Federal Courthouse for daily breath tests for at least the next 10 days, said Emily Langlie, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle. He also has been prohibited from drinking alcohol and must undergo alcohol evaluation.